Those skilled in the art will recognize that the use of automobile article carriers is becoming more prevalent as the consumer turns more to automobile travel for vacationing and related sports activities. Individual travel requiring transportation of attendant luggage is increasing. At the same time, due to economic and energy efficiency considerations, interior space for luggage and the like is decreasing as automobiles become smaller and more fuel efficient. As such, more attention is being turned to alternative modes of transporting baggage and sports equipment. With this increased attention, more effort is being expended studying the problems associated with current rooftop article carrier technology.
The article carriers discussed above commonly include a pair of spaced apart luggage roof rails affixed to the rooftop of the automobile. A crossbar is further provided, extending perpendicularly between the spaced roof rails, to afford the consumer a support structure to tie down or affix the luggage onto the rooftop. While the crossbar must be secured to the roof rail to fix the load on the carrier, a permanently mounted crossbar does not permit the carrier to be particularly configured for secure engagement of various shapes of different loads and is thus undesirable.
Problems related to the undesirable characteristics of conventional, sliding crossbar, rooftop article carriers include, among other problems, difficulties in ease of movement of the bar along the rails to accommodate different size loads, poor locking mechanisms that fail to hold the crossbar in the desired position and weak connections between the crossbar and the roof rails. Additionally, some crossbar assemblies require complicated steps for releasing the locking mechanism, for example, those crossbar assemblies that require use of a screwdriver or other like tool for engaging fasteners and loosening jaw-like clamping mechanisms before the crossbar can be moved.
Known improvements allowing the track to adjust according to the size and shape of the luggage, sports equipment or the like to be transported, include a crossbar mounted for adjustable retention along the roof rails. This slidability or adjustability is limited by the adjustment system provided. One such system utilizes a plurality of spaced apart apertures or holes correspondingly located on the inner sides of the facing roof rails. Spring loaded dowels or knobs are provided on the opposing ends of the crossbar which cooperate with the apertures to secure the crossbar in the numerous lateral positions provided along the length of the roof rails.
Continuously spring loaded dowels create special problems in the article carrier system because they are not securable or lockable in a recessed position. Therefore, it is necessary to manually compress the spring loaded dowel in some fashion on each end of the crossbar each time the crossbar is to be moved from one adjacent position on the roof rail to the next. Thus one individual must continually travel back and forth from each side of the automobile to move the entire crossbar laterally along the roof rails. This operation is tedious, impractical and tends to reduce the useful value of the article carrier to the average consumer.
Another type of rack or carrier that has been used is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,920 issued to Masco Corporation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,920 discloses a luggage carrier having spring-loaded plunger system disposed on a stanchion for locating and securing the cross-bar assemblies. The spring-loaded plunger system, as discussed above, requires an operator to manually actuate a lever to manually remove a spring-loaded plunger from slots disposed in the roof-top side rails. Constant pressure must be applied on both sides of the cross-bar at the lever position to move the entire cross-bar along the side rails.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,453 to Masco Industries, Inc. discloses another type of stanchion for use with an article carrier. The stanchion includes a retractable lock pin which can engage a plurality of oblong apertures formed in a side rail. A push button is provided for engaging a toggle or lever link which lifts the retractable lock pin when the button is pushed. A spring is provided for normally biasing the push button into a position substantially flush with the outer surface of the stanchion and for urging the retractable pin into a locked position. Again, constant application of pressure is required to remove the pin from the oblong aperture so that the entire crossbar is movable along the side rails.